We will celebrate National Poetry Month by reading and sharing some poems that might be classified as "philosophical". Finding such poems should not be difficult, as poets often ask the same "big questions" as philosophers do.
Here are the steps to follow for successful completion:
Spend some time reading poems, and then choose one to analyze and to share with the class.
Sign up for the poem on the spreadsheet.
Create a new page on this site and type out the poem. Include your first name, the title of the poem, and the author.
Analyze the poem. By that, I mean to carefully look at what the author has done with figurative language, imagery, line breaks, allusions, alliteration, rhyming, symbolism, personification, irony, etc. Note if the poem is a particular type (sonnet, Haiku, elegy, etc.) Most importantly, answer the question, "Why do I like this poem?"
Your Wiki page should be completed by Thursday May 1. We'll begin sharing poems in class that day also.
Ran across this quote from Pattiann Rogers, the poet I chose. Thought I'd share it with you:
"I believe poetry functions in ways very similar to music. Poetry doesn’t lend itself to verbal analysis or explanation, as we know. Whatever poetry evokes or conveys cannot be separated from the sound and movement of the very words by which it was created and in which it resides."
Does this mean that it's useless to try to analyze or explain a poem? I don't think so. Just be aware that many poems affect us the way a piece of music does, and trying to explain why can be difficult. Sometimes it's just a matter of the right words in the right places (a pretty good definition of poetry, by the way).
We will celebrate National Poetry Month by reading and sharing some poems that might be classified as "philosophical". Finding such poems should not be difficult, as poets often ask the same "big questions" as philosophers do.
Here are the steps to follow for successful completion:
Spend some time reading poems, and then choose one to analyze and to share with the class.
Sign up for the poem on the spreadsheet.
Create a new page on this site and type out the poem. Include your first name, the title of the poem, and the author.
Analyze the poem. By that, I mean to carefully look at what the author has done with figurative language, imagery, line breaks, allusions, alliteration, rhyming, symbolism, personification, irony, etc. Note if the poem is a particular type (sonnet, Haiku, elegy, etc.) Most importantly, answer the question, "Why do I like this poem?"
Your Wiki page should be completed by Thursday May 1. We'll begin sharing poems in class that day also.
Here are some poetry sites to explore:
www.poets.org
www.poetryfoundation.org
www.favoritepoem.org
Ran across this quote from Pattiann Rogers, the poet I chose. Thought I'd share it with you:
"I believe poetry functions in ways very similar to music. Poetry doesn’t lend itself to verbal analysis or explanation, as we know. Whatever poetry evokes or conveys cannot be separated from the sound and movement of the very words by which it was created and in which it resides."
Does this mean that it's useless to try to analyze or explain a poem? I don't think so. Just be aware that many poems affect us the way a piece of music does, and trying to explain why can be difficult. Sometimes it's just a matter of the right words in the right places (a pretty good definition of poetry, by the way).